Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

On New Year's Day in 1957, Xu Damao got married. In the morning, braving the light snow, he led a group of young men from the courtyard on bicycles to the countryside to pick up his bride.

The older neighbors in the courtyard see this as a good thing, as young people are getting married and starting their own families one after another, which symbolizes the continuation of tradition.

Similarly, Xu Damao's family didn't hold lavish banquets, but rather a small one, inviting the head of each household in the courtyard to eat.

Three tables are enough. Sha Zhu was invited by Xu Damao to be the chef, and it wasn't cheap.

Xu Damao felt it was worth it. Although he liked to compare himself with Sha Zhu, he admired Sha Zhu's cooking skills.

It's a rare occasion to get married, so it's not unreasonable to hire a chef for a nice meal, especially since he's his father's only son.

If it weren't for the policy, Xu Fugui would definitely have held a 50 or 60-table party and made a scene.

There's no doubt about Xu Fugui's wealth; he certainly has it. Nobody knows exactly how rich he is, but he's definitely not poor.

Before the wedding, Xu Fugui returned to the courtyard and paid for his son to renovate the house inside and out.

The three turns and one sound are all provided, along with a brand new set of thirty-six legs.

The couple's life after that was incredibly prosperous.

Xu Fugui had only one request for his son: to hold his grandson as soon as possible.

Xu Damao thumped his chest loudly at his father's request, indicating that everything was negotiable as long as the money was in place.

The implication was that she wanted her father to give her some of his savings.

Does Xu Damao have no savings?

There must be some. He made a profit by reselling workstations, plus what he had saved up before, not to mention he was still working.

However, Xu Damao spent a lot of money, and by the time he got married, he only had about 700 yuan left.

700 yuan is a lot for others, but Xu Damao felt it was too little.

A while ago, Jia Dongxu, Xu Damao, and Shazhu were drinking together. When Xu Damao was chatting with Shazhu, he accidentally let slip that he had more than 900 yuan in savings.

Xu Damao still remembers Sha Zhu's expression at that time; it was one of disdain and mockery.

Sha Zhu also said, "Da Mao, not to be mean, but with your net worth, you're not even worthy of shining my shoes."

Killing someone is like destroying their spirit...

Xu Damao knew Shazhu very well; when he bragged to others, he really meant it.

But when he brags to himself, it's almost always true, 99% of the time.

Because Xu Damao himself, when he was bragging to Shazhu, would habitually tell the other person his true situation by exaggerating.

Damao didn't directly boast that he had 900 points in savings; he really wasn't lying.

Sha Zhu also told him that his savings weren't even enough to carry his shoes, and that was the truth.

Neither of them lied, but it was Jia Dongxu who got hurt.

If you were to ask who understands Sha Zhu and Xu Damao the most, it would naturally be Jia Dongxu, who grew up with them.

Jia Dongxu could tell immediately whether they were lying or not.

Since what they both said is true, then he's the only one who got hurt.

You two really don't treat me like a human being...

Xu Damao feigned embarrassment, then suddenly caught sight of Jia Dongxu's somewhat complicated expression, and an idea popped into his head:

"Brother Dongxu, I have over 900 in savings. Shazhu said I'm not even worthy to carry his shoes. So how much savings do you have? Let me make this clear first, this is your personal savings and has nothing to do with your wife."

Jia Dongxu feigned composure and said, "It's not much, but it's still about a thousand yuan."

"Pah!" Sha Zhu and Xu Damao spat at Jia Dongxu in unison.

We're bragging, that's true, but it's close to the truth. You, Jia Dongxu, you're not even acting anymore, you're really just bragging!

"Stop kidding me. If you had a thousand dollars in savings, I'd cut my head off and use it as a chamber pot for you." Sha Zhu gloated, directly exposing Jia Dongxu's lies.

"Count me in," Xu Damao added, offering his assistance.

Jia Dongxu was furious, but he naturally had his own strengths that surpassed the two of them, and his expression shifted from gloomy to bright:

"I have a son, and my wife is about to give birth. Do you two have one?"

"this……"

Jia Dongxu's words left the two speechless.

Xu Damao is doing better; he's not married yet.

Sha Zhu is different; he has a wife, and they've been married for almost two years, but Qin Huairu's belly still hasn't conceived.

Ironically, Jia Dongxu emerged as the biggest winner from the infighting at the banquet.

On the day of Xu Damao's wedding, all the men from the neighborhood went to his house for a feast at noon.

There were three large tables, each with ten dishes (six meat and two vegetable), six bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and ten packs of cigarettes.

That's perfect. Li Jiuzhou is bringing his son to the banquet. He's not working today, so the men can just drink and eat some food.

The reason for bringing the children was Xu Fugui's request; having children makes the place more lively, and it symbolizes many children and many blessings.

The children even rolled around on Xu Damao's wedding bed a few times and received red envelopes.

This wasn't the first time Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu had met Su Mei, and they had a fairly good impression of this country girl.

He was also very generous and open when toasting others.

Instead of distributing wedding candies door-to-door, the Xu family gave each of the men who attended the banquet a packet of candies to take home so their families could share in the joy.

Around 1 p.m., Sha Zhu came home drunk and saw his wife retching against the wall before he even entered the house.

Sha Zhu, instantly sober, rushed forward to support Qin Huairu, softly asking with concern:

"Honey, what's wrong? Did you not like lunch?"

Qin Huairu shook her head: "I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I keep gagging."

"Zhu Zi, do you think I might be pregnant?"

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Wife, we're not sure if she's pregnant or not. Let's go to the hospital for a checkup."

Qin Huairu nodded. She also wanted to confirm it; if she really was pregnant, it would truly be a blessing from her ancestors.

Although Qin Huairu didn't hear the neighbors gossiping in the courtyard, she could sense strange looks from their eyes.

This made her very uncomfortable. Besides, if she were in the countryside, people would have called her a barren hen long ago.

The fact that no one goesssips about living in this courtyard is only thanks to Yi Zhonghai.

If any neighbors gossip about Qin Huairu, what will Aunt Yi be considered? It's like stabbing the couple in the heart.

With Yi Zhonghai's status as a liaison officer and a level-seven fitter at the steel mill, wouldn't he have been driven to his death?

This is an unspoken understanding among the neighbors in the courtyard: never expose someone's shortcomings unless absolutely necessary.

Unless it escalates to the point where the Jia and Yan families were on the same level back then.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai and his group are people they can't afford to offend.

Not to mention Sha Zhu, he went out to prepare a banquet and beat up more than a dozen people from the host family.

If you dare say someone's wife is a barren hen, I'll beat you to death.

Reporting it to the police won't do any good. You were the one who insulted others first. The law was different back then than it is now. They would just beat you up. The police would only give you a warning and criticism. Who told you to gossip about others first? If you get beaten up, you can only blame yourself for being a smart aleck.

This is different from later generations who, after being beaten to the ground, pull out their phones to look at BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) models.